Skill Development & Your Business

Devote this summer to becoming a better you

At a recent networking event, I enjoyed chatting with other entrepreneurs about the ebb and flow of business in the summer. For many small business owners, summer offers a slower pace that allows them to disconnect and get away with their families. While I love vacation (who doesn’t?), summer is also the time I take to invest in my personal skill development.

For me, a slower pace in my business means I have time to stop, breathe and think instead of running as fast as I can, hitting as many targets as possible. That time is gold because it helps me refocus and map out my plans for the coming year. Without it, I’m at risk of being just another start-up that got sidetracked – which we all know is a sure-fire way to fail fast.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your skills this summer, WIBN is here to help. Throughout the month of July we’re chatting about summer survival strategies on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Join in the conversation and add your own tips.

Here are few of the articles we’ve shared recently:

Take the world’s best courses online, for free

We believe in connecting people to a great education so that anyone around the world can learn without limits. Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Our technology enables our partners to teach millions of students rather than hundreds. Read more: Coursera.org

Learning the softer side of leadership

Leadership is the “eighth wonder of the world.” As the leader, you need to be hands on, but your primary objective is to empower others to make decisions and take actions that are aligned with the organization’s vision, purpose, and strategy. You’re “all in” in terms of commitment, but the spotlight is always on the results of the team. It’s not about you. Read more: FastCompany.com

3 Fears that are holding you and what to do about them

Why do women earn less than men? LeanIn.org recently started a campaign on Tumblr to get women talking about their biggest fears, and what they would do if they weren’t afraid. Policy Mic compiled a list of the top responses from women who submitted photos or Tweets to the project. Read more: PayScale.com.

12 powerful ways to create positive habits

What makes dreams into reality? I believe that perhaps the most important and neglected thing is taking action. Read more: PositivityBlog.com

I’d love to hear your ideas on skill development during the summer.Let’s continue the conversation on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (whichever one works best for you) or leave a comment below.

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Comments

All this talk about slowing down in the summer. Am I the only one out there working my tail off in this heat?? LOL Seriously, though. Having your own business means you don't stop creating the next opportunities or finding the next client. Though you do need to approach your marketing differently depending on the season. Funny. I just wrote a blog about this while I was sitting on the dock by the lake at the cottage this weekend.

Janet I am really working my tail off this summer while at the cottage. Good thing one of my main business partners and I both cottage in the same area! LOL. I agree – you do need to keep finding new opportunities and clients and that doesn't stop in the summer. Even better is perhaps there is less competition. Maybe some entrepreneurs take more time off in the summer because they work their tails off throughout the year.. or perhaps they are "lifestyle entrepreneurs" that can afford it…